One Year before the Coronation Day

One year before the coronation day, amidst the hot days of the summer.

The hooves of my horse drummed on the clayey ground, leaving deep trails over the course of my path. Along this irregular, ill-paved road, I held the bridle of my horse, Artax, to run smoothly, and amazingly agile between the deep pits, scattered surprisingly all over the road.

The turns that came sharp, which usually ended in a road slope, were brilliantly evaded by my horse. Artax jumped over them like a champion, a warrior not fearing his enemies.

Though he was burdened with my heavy armor, the one engraved upon the emblem of my house proudly like a sun in night, bathed in golden light that I always admired, and a shield. This shield had long accompanied me for years now, since the day my body had gotten taller suddenly, earlier than my male peers ever had.

After all I was a girl, one that followed the laws of the world, even if I was tricking the laws of my kingdom.

My horse kept running, while I kept hearing the distant sounds of the hot pursuit, following me without a break. Each time I looked behind, to be met only with vacancy, to feel proud of myself. I was a girl, and I was besting the knights of my kingdom, what a triumph.

I was heading to the northern lands of the kingdom, my kingdom, the Main Land kingdom. There, my family had a state of its own, long established by my great grandfather, and there I intended to stay one month of summer, playing and fooling around, enjoying the feminine life I was deprived of freely.

My knights were always with me, but my dear father had ordered them to keep themselves away from the main state of mine. He stated that I needed rest, yearned to be away from the matters of the palace, the issues of war, and for sure I wanted to escape the tightened life of a prisoner I was living.

Above all, I wasn't living my real life except for this month only, could anyone live a life like me and stay sane?

I seriously doubted that!

The state I was going to stay at this month was a border state, the most northern lands in my kingdom. There, all who were working inside were stationed and living a life of prisoners, not able to leave there, not able to escape.

If any did, their fate was to be killed. My father didn't need to use any force to do that, as simply put he laid a spell over each and every single person there, who knew my true identity. Breaking the rules there meant death, trying to escape meant death.

If I were them, I would despise me, hating me for the torture and fear they were living in, but I believed they pitied me. a girl, who was a direct and only heir to the throne, was chained by the lies forced upon her by her father.

Their pity was appreciated by me, as they never spoke ill directly in front of my face, but their eyes said it, they pitied me, the servant pitied their rightful queen… what a joke!

I was allowed to dress as a girl, disguising myself as one of the ladies running the state in my absence. Some of the knights last summer thought of me as a secret lover for the fake prince identity I was playing, and that made me laugh for an entire month, not on their naivety, but on my misfortune.

I was accused to be a dirty girl, a secret mistress for my own self, how ironic!

The most ironic thing I thought of was the event I just finished and came from at the capital, I was betrothed! Yes, I had a match, a beautiful girl that was slightly younger than me, and prettier than me, and had a twisted soul and mind much worse than my own father.

I looked at Artax again, my dear horse wasn't the one burdened by me, but it was me. I took a deep breath, trying to cast all my fears away, as this was the only breather I had in the whole year, and I didn't plan to live these days, miserably, as I always did back at the palace.

Even if I was eyed as a secret mistress for myself, I wasn't complaining. My dream throughout the year turned from escaping a life that was a fake as a terrible lie, into being a mistress in a distant land like here.

Just as the road started to widen, I noticed the flags, rising high up in the sky, flittering strongly by the northern breeze that usually came here in summer.

The temperature here was suitable to be called mild, with this common northern breeze, living here was considered a blessing in the summer.

I hurriedly pushed Artax to gallop rapidly, catching the distant backs of these riders. They held the emblem of my kingdom's main army, the commoners army. I had a secret habit in observing those poor souls, happy with the morsels thrown to them by lords and high officials of my kingdom.

They even were blessing themselves to have a young prince like me, faked, to be the next to sit on the throne, a king not a queen.

Sigh!

Once I got near them, they stopped marching on foot, as they noticed the presence of my horse, my long royal mantle, made of thick sacramento green linen, one of the finest I supposed, embroidered with the emblem of my family, lined in gold silk, with some writings in gold as well.

Once recognized me, even in this full armored dressing of mine, the royal war suit, they knelt at once, holding the flags high, without even making a sound. They moved away from my path, creating a gap where my horse ran through without any pause, proudly as a royal horse would be.

I didn't glance directly in their eyes, as it was impossible from my high up place, however I was much interested in their clothing, their armor that greatly paled in front of mine, and their swords which seemed to be rusted from time, not like mine, shining like a miniature sun on our lands.

The only clean thing here was these flags, which had the emblem of my family, the head of a roaring tiger, a golden tiger. It was said that my great ancestor once tamed this tiger, and with its help he reigned supreme over the lands now called mine.

I greatly admired him, being alone, abandoned by others, left out even by the gods, I was sure he had hell as much as I had. Every night I request from my advisors to narrate a story about him, and we had a huge library filled with stories of him, or legends in my time.

He could use magic on his own, unleashing a great power that no one else could master. He was brave, unyielding, once exiled from his home lands by his own relatives and friends, branding him as a sorcerer, but he later came back, ostentatious of his achievements here and there. he was a king, like a right king should be, and he was my hidden mentor, a one I would never ever meet.

I passed this brigade rapidly, without any impression whatsoever, like many others I just passed along the travel to here. These lands weren't as peaceful as other parts of my kingdom, as the adjacent kingdom to mine was the famous fate kingdom.

This kingdom was amazing, as not like any other kingdom of the world, they had a strange rule called – Rule of Fate – where the new king was selected in a very mysterious way. They had an enchanted sickle that would always stay beside the king ruling their lands until he died.

Once dead, this royal sickle would, magically, vanish, hidden itself somewhere, waiting to be found by the fated person.